Episode 7: “Shadows Beneath Feathers”
1042 Words
[Opening Scene – A Dim Rooftop Overlooking the Lust Ring]
The Lust Ring bled color into the smog-filled horizon. Towering signs hummed neon pink, buzzing like drunken fireflies. From the highest cathedral spire, a shadow loomed—a beast of iron and vengeance.
The ARCH DARK CRUSADE.
His hooded armor gleamed faintly under the stormlight, jagged pauldrons etched with sigils that glowed in pulses. The cat-eared cowl bent the skyline into a silhouette more nightmare than knight.
Golden eyes cut through the haze. They narrowed at a far-off palace: Stella’s estate.
---
[Cut to: Stella’s Estate – Lavish Balcony]
Inside her gilded fortress, STELLA reclined like a serpent in silk. Her voice was venom disguised as laughter.
Stella: (mocking)
“When they stripped Stolas of his title, it was delicious. He fell into our trap without even knowing.”
Beside her, ANDREALPHUS swirled a glass of red wine, grinning like a predator.
Andrealphus:
“And soon Octavia will follow. The girl is fragile. We’ll hold the entire Goetia line by the throat.”
Stella (raising her glass):
“Goetia blood. Goetia power. Ours, at last.”
Their glasses clinked.
[Cut to: Above Them – Stone Gargoyle Perch]
High above, Daniel crouched motionless, blending into the grotesque statues. His armor seemed carved from the cathedral itself.
A quiet hum filled his gauntlet. With a twist of his wrist, a rune-recording device shimmered to life, capturing every word Stella and Andrealphus dripped into the night.
Daniel’s jaw tightened. His eyes flared gold.
DANIEL (V.O.):
“Truth is a blade sharper than steel. And tonight… it finds its sheath.”
---
[Scene Change – I.M.P. Office – Late Night]
The office was unnervingly quiet. Blitz sat slumped at his desk, an old bourbon glass sweating beside him. In his hands, a small bundle of paper—Octavia’s doodles, mailed years ago. His eyes softened as he flipped through them.
Then—TAP. TAP. TAP.
A metallic thud against the balcony glass. Blitz jumped up, pistol drawn.
BLITZO:
“The hell—?!”
From the shadows beyond the glass, two glowing golden eyes pierced the dark. A hooded silhouette—taller than any demon Blitz knew—loomed outside.
Blitz’s trigger finger twitched.
BLITZO (muttering):
“Oh s**t. It’s you again.”
The balcony door slid open with agonizing slowness. The ARCH DARK CRUSADER stepped in. His sheer presence filled the room like a cathedral of dread. Blitz’s neon lamp flickered just trying to illuminate him.
Blitz swallowed.
BLITZO (nervous grin):
“You don’t talk much, do you… Batcat?”
Daniel ignored the jab. From under his cloak, he pulled a rune device, setting it on Blitz’s desk. It lit up, projecting a smoky hologram into the air.
---
[Projection Plays – Stella and Andrealphus’ Scheme]
STELLA (recorded, sneering):
“Once we finalize the custody over Octavia—”
ANDREALPHUS:
“—the throne will be ours.”
The voices slithered through the room before the recording cut.
Blitz stared, jaw slack.
BLITZO:
“Holy… s**t. They framed Stolas?”
The armored figure finally spoke—his voice deep, distorted, resonant like stone grinding on stone.
DANIEL (disguised):
“He was betrayed by his own. This is proof.”
BLITZO (squinting):
“And you’re just handing it over? Why?”
DANIEL:
“He deserves the chance to rise again. But only he can choose to.”
With that, Daniel turned, cape whispering like a funeral shroud. He was already gone before Blitz could raise his voice.
BLITZO (calling after):
“HEY! Who the hell are you?!”
The night answered with silence.
Blitz exhaled, holstering his gun.
BLITZO (grumbling):
“Creepy-ass armored jungle cat ghost ninja… gotta put a bell on him.”
[Scene Opens – I.M.P. Office, After-Hours]
Hours later, the office was still dim. Blitz paced nervously, the rune device sitting on his desk like a live bomb.
The door creaked.
STOLAS entered, his secretary uniform draped like shackles, his posture fragile. His once-princely feathers drooped, eyes hollow.
STOLAS (softly):
“You said it was important?”
BLITZO (nodding, motioning to chair):
“Yeah. Sit, please.”
The owl demon obeyed, clutching his hands. Blitz hesitated, then slid the device across the desk.
BLITZO (low, serious):
“You need to hear this. About why you lost everything.”
The device glowed.
[Hologram Replays]
Stella’s voice oozed through the room:
STELLA:
“He had no idea what was coming. When the council sees those documents—”
ANDREALPHUS:
“—he’ll be out faster than he can scream betrayal.”
The recording cut.
Stolas froze. The world seemed to drain of color. His talons dug into the desk.
STOLAS (whispering):
“My Brother in Law… and my ex-wife…”
His feathers trembled.
STOLAS (voice breaking):
“They lied. They destroyed me.”
Blitz remained quiet, letting the storm crush him.
Finally, Blitz muttered:
“A vigilante gave me that. Said you deserved the truth.”
STOLAS:
“The… Vigilante? The one they call the Dark Knight of Imp City?”
BLITZO:
“Yeah. Creepy guy in armor. Doesn’t say much. But he fixes s**t nobody else will.”
Stolas’s eyes burned with unshed tears. He slumped.
STOLAS:
“I don’t know what to do. What am I now?”
Blitz softened, uncharacteristically tender.
BLITZO:
“You can be what they tried to take from you. A father. A friend. Maybe more.”
Their gazes met—painful, raw, vulnerable.
STOLAS (softly, trembling):
“Thank you… Blitzy.”
---
[Cut to Rooftops Above I.M.P.]
Across the street, cloaked in night, Daniel watched from a broken gargoyle. His golden eyes were the only light. He didn’t move, didn’t breathe.
DANIEL (V.O.):
“Justice isn’t forged in courts or crowns. It grows in shadows… unseen, but unstoppable.”
Wind howled. His cape unfurled like wings before he vanished into the dark.
---
[Closing Montage]
Inside, Stolas leaned against Blitz, quiet tears finally falling.
The rune device flickered out, leaving only the hum of neon outside.
Across the city, news chyrons screamed: “MYSTERIOUS DARK KNIGHT SIGHTED AGAIN – IS IMP CITY SAFE?”
Criminals whispered of a ghost-cat knight that stole voices from the air.
Stella laughed in her mansion, unaware the shadows were closing in.
- Writer
